Musings and Sometimes Rants about the non-equal status of Fathers in Family Law and Parenting. Additionally periodic comparisons to the treatment of men compared to women in other areas including health care.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Below we have another group seeking Family Law reform starting in
Sarnia. I wish them well. Hopefully they will align themselves with the
Canadian Equal Parenting Council, a National umbrella group lobbying
for shared/equal parenting change.

Vested interests in
the Department of Justice and Attorney General`s departments within
Provinces are resisting reform for shared/equal parenting and the
following post I placed in the Ottawa Citizen today helps explain why.

MikeMurphy

1:04 PM on August 30, 2011

The
Canadian Bar Association (CBA) is the main lobby group of Lawyers in
Canada, yet they are not registered as lobbyists. They can have the
Canadian Head of State as their main speaker, a member of the same lobby
group, without any one giving it a second thought.

Last year
in Ireland they had the Justice Minister do a speech where he was
directly lobbied to not act on PMB-C-422 for shared/equal parenting.
This same Minister acquiesced to this blatant attempt at lobbying by
stating the government did not support it.

A definition of
corruption is abuse of the system. We have a lobby group, the CBA,
acting as a vested interest in protecting family law lawyers from the
potential of lost business due to the enactment of legislation that
would reduce their need, especially in court litigation.

I do not think the CBA is capable of reform without independent oversight. It will not come from the
Legislative branch until we see fewer lawyers operating in that sphere as
lawmakers. Only in the area of the law
can we see such direct conflicts of interest, very similarly to the Canadian
Head of states recent speech.

At least he told his colleagues
they need to fix their very leaky roof.

The Sarnia Observer

Fix sought for family law

By SHAWN JEFFORDS, The Observer

Updated 1 day ago

Ontario's family law system is broken and a new group formed in Sarnia is lobbying the government for a permanent fix.

Canadians
For Family Law Reform was founded in April by eight city residents who
have been through the family law system. Two of the co-founders, Anna
Moscardelli and Jim Canie, said the current structure turns spouse
against spouse, often bankrupting both, as they fight over child custody
and assets.

"The court system has developed these animosities between ex-spouses," Moscardelli said.

The
group, which supports men and women, wants to see the government
overhaul the family law system. A focus on mediated solutions, not long,
drawn out court battles would be a good place to start, Moscardelli
said.

"For me, it took seven years, 364 days from the time the original motion was filed until the final order came down," she said.

Moscardelli
said she knows of a local couple who were married for four years and
divorced, only to fight it out in the courts for 11 years before
reaching a resolution.

Moscardelli's own lengthy court battle destroyed what was left of her relationship with her ex-husband and hurt their children.

"It's really the kids who lose out in all of this," she said.

The
group would also like to see greater accountability measures placed on
family law lawyers, some of whom draw out cases to make more money, she
said.

"(Some lawyers) look at it like, they don't make money resolving cases," she said. "It's a huge moneymaking system."

Canie
said the system also creates undue stress for families. His court
proceedings have affected his health. He now regularly takes blood
pressure medication and sleeping pills so he can rest at night.

"The stress is unbearable," he said.

Canie
said people who can't afford lawyers find themselves lost in a pile of
complicated paperwork.

Even those who can afford a lawyer sometimes
can't find one to take on their case, he said.

"Individuals just don't know what to do," he said. "They don't know where to start."

The
group will host a public meeting Sept. 8 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., at the
Sarnia Library downtown.

They're encouraging people to come out and
share their stories. The group has already sent letters to Attorney
General Chris Bentley, Ombudsman Andre Marin and Law Society of Upper
Canada asking each to take action.

"We need some change because the current system just isn't cutting it," Moscardelli said.

About Me

I am Politically active and right of centre on most issues with the odd exception such as legalization of "Mary Jane".
I advocate on changes to Family Law - an incredibly dysfunctional arena where parents are pitted against one another and children are the victims.
My picture will sometimes show me as a younger man simply because I like them.

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Leading causes of Injury to Women 2006

In 2006, unintentional falls were the leading cause of nonfatal injury among women of every age group, and rates generally increased with age. Women aged 65 years and older had the highest rate of injury due to unintentional falls (59.7 per 1,000 women), while slightly more than 19 per 1,000 women aged 18–34 and 35–44 years experienced fall-related injuries. Unintentional injuries sustained as motor vehicle occupants were the second leading cause of injury among 18- to 34-year-olds (18.7 per 1,000), while unintentional overexertion was the second leading cause of injury among women aged 35–44 and 45–64 years (13.7 and 9.3 per 1,000, respectively). Among women aged 65 years and older, being unintentionally struck by or against an object was the second leading cause of injury (5.7 per 1,000).

Injury related Emergency Department Visits

Unintentional and intentional injuries each represented a higher proportion of emergency department (ED) visits for men than women in 2005. Among women and men aged 18 years and older, unintentional injuries accounted for 19.9 and 27.5 percent of ED visits, respectively, while intentional injuries, or assault, represented 1.4 and 2.7 percent of visits, respectively. Among both women and men, unintentional injury accounted for a higher percentage of ED visits among those living in non-metropolitan areas, while adults living in metropolitan areas had a slightly higher percentage of ED visits due to intentional injury.